Dunleavy Awarded $13 Million From Clippers

An arbitrator has awarded former Los Angeles Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy $13 million. Dunleavy also served as the team’s general manager during his tenure.

In a move typical of the Clippers and owner Donald Sterling, the Clippers stopped paying Dunleavy after they fired him last March. He had been owed $6.75 million on the contract, $1.35 million for the remainder of the 2009-10 season and $5.4 million for the season just completed.

Finally Sterling gets his comeuppance. After years of being notoriously cheap, he gets told to cough up $13 million. Of course this isn’t the first time that Sterling quit paying an employee. He had a similar suit against former coach Bill Fitch, saying he hadn’t been trying to get another job. He also had a wrongful termination suit, filed by former GM Elgin Baylor, rejected by a Los Angeles jury. Is he an NBA owner or Scrooge McDuck.

Dunleavy’s attorney, Miles Clement seemed happy with the outcome of the case. “It was a good day”, said Clements. Ice Cube couldnt’ve said it better.

Of course the firm handling the case for the Clippers didn’t seem too enthused with the decision.

“We do not agree with the arbitrator’s decision,” said Clippers general counsel Robert H. Platt, a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. “We intend to review the decision carefully and explore the team’s various options.”

The Clippers and Sterling need to get over it and pony up that $13 million to Dunleavy.
    

Tell Me Why Donald Sterling Is Heckling His Own Players

Happy times in Clipperland. The worse owner ever in professional sports Donald Sterling has taken to heckling and belittling his own players. Sterling is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Why Sterling is doing that to his own players, only he knows and he’s not saying anything. His main target has been big money point guard, Baron Davis. He’s also thrown darts at center Chris Kaman. Kaman, who is sidelined right now, has found it amusing.

  “All kinds of stuff,” Kaman said. “Some stuff like, ‘Oh, dunk the ball.’ He owns the team. What do you want me to say? He’s my boss. He signs the check. He owns me.”Not really, but you know what I’m saying. My rights to my basketball skills for five years.”

Sterling would prefer not to pay Davis and has been reported as saying “he wants his money back.” A league source says he wants to do it, but obviously can’t do it.

Some within the organization aren’t too thrilled. You can count me as an outsider who isn’t either. Especially since this is a classic moment of the pot calling the kettle black.

Sterling has been known to be one of the cheapest owners in the NBA. Only a few years ago did he start trying to improve the product on the court. They never win and he won’t sell the team. The Clippers are nothing more to him than something to improve his social standing. That way he can tell his high falutin buddies, “hey, I own an NBA team”. Hell, former general manager Elgin Baylor took the brunt of the heat that should’ve been directed toward Sterling. Another thing, it’s not like he’s some kind of basketball savant.
He’s probably never played, or even picked up a basketball. He probably didn’t even know what one looked like until he owned the Clippers. Davis could probaly kick his ass in a game of 21with a peg leg and wooden arm.

He claims he wants the best for all his players when asked about heckling Davis. Fooled me. The guy is flat out cheap, just ask ex coach Paul Silas, whom he asked to tape players himself to cut costs. Better yet ask former tenants of his apartment buildings. Or a local lawyer who had to sue Sterling for fraud over a $1000 prize he won in a free throw shooting contest. Those were in the San Diego days. Google stories about the guy and you’ll see why he has no reason whatsoever to run around heckling anyone.
  http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/6435/donald-sterling-one-creepy-story-after-another
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4187729